The 1975 Release Euphoric Album Notes On A Conditional Form

6/10

Have you ever listened to an album and realised you are stuck in this limbo of not knowing? Everything is subjective, something might be inspiring to some but meaningless to others. And this is exactly how I feel towards The 1975’s new album Notes on a Conditional Form.

After not even two years from their last record, the band is back on the road while producing a brand new 22-songs-long collection - not album - of tracks, at the same time. With a powerful start on their self-titled track, accompanied by Greta Thunberg’s voice, The 1975 start with an unconventional yet effective beginning. But, unfortunately, it all goes downhill from here.

After the electrifying and paralyzing “People”, Notes… takes an unexpected turn with a calm yet ominous instrumental track - “The End (Music For Cars)” - constellated by violins and other strings. The track, though, takes up a space that deserved to be at the end, not only for the title but also for the feeling this song emanates. But, moving on, it is a beautiful, moving track, rendered even more intimate by a deep trombone-like sound in the background. Reminiscent of a clock ticking, acted out thanks to an arp, the scenario changes quickly once again with the transition to the bubbly and eclectic “Frail State Of Mind”, which is one of the strongest tracks on the record. The lyrics “go outside? Seems unlikely” resonate quite ironically with today’s situation, but the song as a whole encaptures perfectly the message that this album aimed to spread, but didn’t end up being successful in. 

This album is for sure characterised by long and strenuous instrumentals, some say that they are a strong point but, in this case, I say they really are not. Songs like “Streaming” do nothing but dilute the flow of the album in a mass of sounds that entangle themselves in one’s head, doing no justice to the band’s full potential. On a more positive note, the sixth track, “The Birthday Party”, is one of the best songs The 1975 has ever released. With a seamless transition, the song starts in all its glory. With pounding yet warm drums and Healy’s soothing voice, this track reminds the band’s oldest fans what it is like to listen to The 1975. It is a mature track which, in my opinion, carries a similar message to the penultimate “Don’t Worry”, written by Matty’s dad Tim Healy: an existential, comforting song that tells the listener that everything will be okay, at the end.

“Impress myself with stealth, and bad health, and my wealth, and progressive causes”

Again, with a basically seamless transition, the album carries on and opens up with the groovy and beautiful “Yeah I Know”, which is surely one of the strongest tracks. Auto-tuned, outraging, pretentious… all qualities that could turn out to be a disaster but, in this case, are a success. The production, mostly organised by drummer George Daniel, is immaculate. The lyrics “pick a card, yeah I know, try your best, yeah I know” don’t seem to have any particular impact on the listener, but they are reinforced by the outstanding use of synths and beats. Although it slightly drags out at the end, it still keeps the listener on edge and motives them to keep going. 

With a riff that reminds me of “Inside Your Mind”, the gorgeous and nostalgic “Then Because She Goes” starts playing. A perfect coming-of-age track, that sees Matty desperately crying out “You are mine, I’ve been drowning in you”: it is the epitome of the love song. The only criticism against this song is that, perhaps, it is too short. The deep yet impactless “Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America” flows quite slowly after that, leaving the spot for the folky “Roadkill”, which is probably one of the worst songs on the record, even if characterised by a sweet chorus. With a cheeky reprise of 2013’s classic “Robbers” in the lyric “If you don’t eat then you’ll never grow, should’ve learned that quite a while ago”, the song nostalgically reminds the fans of old times, while following the same rhythmical footsteps of “The Birthday Party”.

After such a mellow moment, the chirpy “Me & You Together Song” is next. This is probably one of the stablest singles the band has ever put out, yet I am not so sure about its position in the tracklist. 

“I’ve been in love with her for ages, and I can’t seem to get it right. I fell in love with her in stages, my whole life”

But, after that, the album starts to lose itself. Instrumental after instrumental, it loses structure and it becomes more and more forgettable. Taken individually, songs like “I Think There’s Something You Should Know” are entertaining and interesting but, in the context of the album, they lose their persona. This song, in particular, is still on the high-end spectrum, enriched by Healy’s autotuned and looped vocals, exploding towards the end in strings and beats and Matty’s enthralling voice. But the meaning is yet to be found in all of this. 

The 1975 photographed at NME Awards 2020 by David Chalkley

You remember “If I Believe You”? Yes, “Nothing Revealed / Everything Denied” is her, but stronger. Reminiscent of an old-school Frank Ocean, a gospel choir accompanies Matty’s bars on an R&B rhythm. It is for sure something I did not expect from a band like The 1975, but it was a sweet surprise. Unfortunately, the album can’t keep up with these standards anymore: the confused “Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy)” and “Shiny Collarbone” are placed back to back. But why? The former is a funky, almost reggae tune, which lightens up the morale but brings down everything else; the latter is, to put it lightly, a mess. It is a decent club and house song, but it did not deserve a spot on the already all-over-the-place album. With a promising start, it loses potential after each note. I am sure I would enjoy it after a few drinks but, unfortunately, I am completely sober right now. 

After this dance interlude, The 1975 go, questionably, back to being The 1975 with the catchy “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)”. “I see her online, all the time”, Healy starts singing, maybe reminiscing of the former album A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships. After a lot of sax and drums, the 17th track “Playing On My Mind” takes the spotlight, starting as an acoustic song similar to “She Lays Down”, Matty and Phoebe Bridgers tell a life story. The lyrics are deep enough, but the song itself doesn’t leave any particular mark, if not the one of melancholy. 

“And I met one of your friends and it was dead nice, he was fine, but he said things that interest me, exist outside space and time”

The consecutive “Having No Head”, “What Should I Say” and “Bagsy Not In Net” are three instrumentals that, once again, are not as interesting as the titles might suggest. The first one, in particular, is a 6-minutes-long song that should have been a 3-minutes-long one. Even if it has potential, it tends to drag out with sounds that we have already heard, adding basically nothing to the album as a whole. But it is still a catchy tune. “What Should I Say”, on the other hand, is slightly more elaborate, with the addition of Matty’s deepened vocals that sing “I sorta hate the fame, making sure that people won’t change”. It is the classic electronic-pop tune that will be huge in radios and clubs but won’t be huge in people’s minds, as it just dissolves alongside the other instrumentals. For a change, the 20th track is, also, an instrumental: “Bagsy Not In Net”, constellated by occasional vocals and strings that remind me of the suspended end of “I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)”. Compared to the others, this is more complex and impactful, adding the bits that were missing. 

“Don’t Worry” and “Guys”, the last two tracks, are the perfect closure for such an incomplete album. They add meaning where it was missing and, even if slightly slow, they balance everything out with a hopeful note. But, unfortunately, they are not enough.

“Don’t worry darling, ‘cause I’m here with you; don’t worry darling, the sun will shine through”

Matty Healy said "life is chaos" and, since Notes on a Conditional Form is supposed to be the reflection

of the band's life, it makes sense for it to be all over the place. It is a complicated body of work, which

might be understood by some but not by others. In my opinion, it should have been split into a double

album and the tracklist should have been revised more thoroughly. The 1975 tried to put two albums in

one, but what else could we expect?

As a critic, I still think that I would have loved for The 1975 to put more of The 1975 in it but, as a fan,

I am almost glad they lost their way a bit.

Is it their best album? No. Have they made a point with it? Yes.

No one knows why we are put on this earth, might as well experiment with it.